Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 338: 227: Refining Treasures_1

Chapter 338: Chapter 227: Refining Treasures_1

The Golden Core had formed, and the Physique had taken shape.

The vortex dissipated, and the Yuan Spirit scattered in four directions.

Only the five great divine beasts remained, with the True Spirit Map revealing itself in all five directions.

Xu Yang sat upon the clouds, watching the images in the five directions, his face breaking into a satisfied smile as he sent several more Golden Core pills flying out with a wave of his hand.

“Roar!”

The Azure Dragon moved first, roaring as it swooped down from the clouds and swallowed a nearby Golden Core pill.

After the Azure Dragon came the White Tiger, followed by the Vermilion Bird and the Black Tortoise, and at last, the Kylin refused to be left out.

The five Divine Spirit Beasts each swallowed a Golden Core pill, letting out a series of roars, creating a scene where dragons soared and tigers leaped, while birds chirped and turtles cried out.

Xu Yang sat on the cloud bed, silently observing the transformation of the five spirits.

His five disciples were originally spirit beasts of the Five Elements, cultivating alongside him the Five Spirits True Jue, each of their cultivations having reached the peak of Foundation Establishment.

Now, having transformed into the Five Elements True Spirit Map to help him break through and consolidate his Golden Core, they were influenced by his aura of the Five Elements and naturally ready to form their own Golden Cores.

Thus, Xu Yang took out the remaining Five Elements Gold Binding Pills to lend them a helping hand.

In this manner, time passed unknowingly.

Finally…

“Roar!!!”

With a roar, the Azure Dragon swooped down and landed, turning into a shining green spirit lingzhi mushroom.

The lingzhi mushroom then transformed into a figure, appearing as a young girl in green clothes – it was Dong Ling.

Her appearance remained unchanged, but her aura was entirely different.

With a Golden Core swallowed into her belly, her fate was no longer determined by the heavens.

Although this Golden Core was not the other kind of Golden Core, it still shared a common meaning.

“Master, Ling’er has broken through!”

Dong Ling was also excited, spinning around in front of the cloud bed.

“Hmm.”

Xu Yang nodded, approvingly saying, “Well done!”

“Roar!”

Before his words could fall, a howl was heard, and the White Tiger also leaped down, turning into a radiant golden stone sculpture.

Suddenly, the sculpture gained life and transformed into a person, becoming a young man with white hair and a stern face who knelt before Xu Yang to pay respects, “Master!”

“Well done!”

Xu Yang nodded, his words of praise unchanged.

Soon after came the Vermilion Bird, the Black Tortoise, and the Kylin, each leaping down to reveal their original forms, and then transforming into human shapes.

“Well done, all of you!”

Seeing that all five had successfully formed their Golden Cores, Xu Yang was very pleased. With a wave of his sleeve, Sprit Light was cast out, falling in front of the five, which turned out to be five masks.

The masks, modeled after beast faces, with Sprit Light concealed within, permeated with mysterious Taoist Rhyme and in accordance with the forces of the Five Elements and Five Spirits, were the very emblem of the Five Palaces of the Five Cities in White Jade Capital.

Sitting on the cloud, Xu Yang looked at the five and said with a light smile, “From today on, you will be the heads of the Five Palaces of White Jade Capital. I hope you will set an example for the other disciples. You may be proud, but you must not be complacent or idle!”

“This…”

“Yes!”

“Thank you, Master!”

“The disciple will certainly not fail Master’s expectations!”

The five were briefly taken aback but then promptly regained their composure, receiving the masks with both hands.

“Alright!”

Xu Yang spoke indifferently with a sweep of his sleeves, “Return to your places, consolidate your cultivations. A battle is imminent, and you will need to fight with all your might.”

“Yes!”

The disciples did not dare to say more and accepted the command to leave.

…

After the five had departed, Xu Yang sat alone on the cloud bed, but he sighed softly, “It’s still not enough!”

Due to the various drawbacks caused by the contamination of Demonic Qi, this time the development of forces had pursued the strategy of forming an elite army.

Therefore, White Jade Capital did not recruit too many disciples, apart from Li Suhong and his sister Qing who were of the first batch of disciples. Those recruited later were primarily Demon Transformation Spirit Beasts, which inherently had the ability to dispel Demonic Qi, meaning Xu Yang wouldn’t need to put forth extra effort for their Demon Transformation.

However, despite the many advantages of Demon Transformation Spirit Beasts, the problem of their limited numbers could not be changed, as there were not so many of them in the world.

Although White Jade Capital pursued the strategy of an elite force, being elite did not necessarily mean being few in number.

Xu Yang was rather greedy; he wanted both quality and quantity.

Hence, after ransacking Xing Country and its surrounding territories and finding it difficult to locate more Demon Transformation Spirit Beasts, White Jade Capital began to selectively recruit disciples with Spiritual Root Qualifications through external forces like the Le Family, expanding the manpower of the Five Cities and Twelve Tower.

Everything was planned.

But time was too short, the conditions were not ripe, and they were not yet fit for great use.

Now in White Jade Capital, only Dong Ling and the other four could be considered Golden Core combatants.

Because of the Demonic Qi, the combat power of cultivators in this world was generally low, far inferior to that of the Demon Transformation Spirit Beasts. But five Golden Cores were just five Golden Cores; they couldn’t be used as if there were fifty, nor could they be expected to fight beyond their limits, contending against Corpse Resolution Nascent Soul.

The Slaughtering Demon Corpse Resolution gathering at Great Xing Mountain would still need him, the Master, to carry the weight.

But could he shoulder this responsibility?

Xu Yang was a little worried.

This wasn’t because he was being self-deprecating or underestimating the Nine Turns Five Elements Golden Core he had just formed; rather, he habitually prepared for the worst, even suffering from a sort of ‘firepower insufficiency phobia.’

This time was no exception. The Five Elements and Four Laws, the Nine Turns Golden Core – with such foundations, fighting beyond his tier against Nascent Soul should naturally pose no problem.

The issue was that being able to fight didn’t guarantee victory, being able to win didn’t guarantee a kill, and being able to kill one didn’t ensure the defeat of many.

Having widely sent out invitations for the Slaughtering Demon Corpse Resolution event, major sects would surely come to witness the occasion, and with the common interests of the Nine Sects Alliance in ascending to greater heights, it was likely that a few Corpse Resolution Immortals would stand out to support Great Xing Mountain.

Therefore, Xu Yang had to be prepared to face multiple enemies, ready to confront several Corpse Resolution Immortals.

Even without a Divinity Transformation Corpse Resolution Immortal, several Nascent Soul Corpse Resolution Immortals together could still pose a significant problem.

The power of a Golden Core, though extremely strong, was not enough to suppress the entire scene and sweep away all those who resisted.

With insufficient strength, one’s heart would be uneasy.

How to alleviate this worry?

The only way was to “cheat”!

Xu Yang smiled and waved his hand, creating five Magic Artifacts with his Spirit Light, which turned into a tree, a sword, a bead, a tripod, and a seal.

The Taoism Origin Body transmitted skill traits continuously. While the Luotian Dajiao had restored his Divine Soul, some fundamental damages that could not be remedied by mere recovery required time to heal; otherwise, the foundation would be compromised.

Therefore, the Taoism Origin Body could no longer provide support in the short term.

Fortunately, the Taoism Origin Body had already transferred traits like “Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor,” “Heavenly Craftsman,” and “Taoism Yang God” over.

So…

Xu Yang looked at the five Magic Artifacts in front of him, a slight smile on his face, as he activated his mana. The Five Elements Golden Core within his body shone brightly with azure, yellow, red, white, and black divine lights, corresponding to the attributes of the Five Elements, illuminating each of the Magic Artifacts.

The Magic Artifacts: a tree, a sword, a bead, a tripod, and a seal.

The tree radiated a lively azure light with dragon patterns twining around it, known as the Azure Dragon YiWood Tree!

The sword emitted a sharp aura, assuming a tiger’s devouring stance, dubbed the White Tiger Xinjin Sword!

The bead blazed with a fierce flame, housing the wings of a Vermillion Bird, named the Vermillion Bird Ding Fire Bead!

The tripod churned like turbulent waves, as if guarded by tortoises and snakes, called the Black Tortoise Kui Water Tripod!

The seal was enveloped in a heavy Taoist Rhyme, topped with a Qilin, labeled the Jitu Qilin Seal!

Five Elements Magic Artifacts!

The Five Spirits True Jue, circulating within the Void Spirit Cave Heaven, only provided the basic Cultivation Technique and a single Five Elements and Five Spirits Battle Body, lacking any corresponding Cultivation Skills Divine Magic or Spiritual Treasures.

This was as if one were given a car, equipped only with an engine and a fuel tank, and nothing else, requiring the individual to find the missing parts.

Quite bothersome.

But with Xu Yang’s potentiality, it was not too difficult to compensate, and he quickly crafted a set of Five Elements Magic Artifacts for himself.

Like the Three Mountains and Five Peaks Seal, these Five Elements Magic Artifacts were also “knockoffs,” based on the concept of treasures from the World of Dao and Law, modified by Xu Yang according to his own condition and using various materials he had looted. With the skills of a fourth-tier Refinement Grandmaster, he had refined them all.

The Five Elements Magic Artifacts, with no ordinary might, combined with his Five Elements Physique, were enough to make even Nascent Souls wary.

But again, the same problem, not enough, still not enough!

Magic Artifacts could not become the decisive force to firmly suppress the situation.

Therefore, Xu Yang decided to go a step further and combine these Five Elements Magic Artifacts into one, refining a single Five Elements Spiritual Treasure.

That’s right, Refining Treasures!

Although they were finished products, they could still be used as materials if suitable, to refine higher-tier Spiritual Treasures.

Xu Yang had a blueprint in mind for a while, and the reason he hadn’t acted until now was due to his previously low level of cultivation and insufficient mana. Even with the achievements of a fourth-tier Refinement Grandmaster, refining a Spiritual Treasure was difficult.

Now, however, it was different. With Five Elements and Four Laws, and Nine Turns Golden Core, Supreme Grade might still be beyond his reach, but he could certainly satisfy Middle and Lower Grades.

So, without further ado, the Nine Turns Golden Core spurred into action, with the Divine Light of the Five Elements illuminating the artifacts, using the cultivator’s own mana as tinder, combining the principle of mutual generation of the Five Elements to refine and integrate these five Magic Artifacts into one.

Xu Yang was completely confident, full of self-assurance.

He himself possessed the accomplishments of a fourth-tier Refinement Grandmaster, and having just understood the Five Elements True Spirit Map, he had successfully condensed the Five Elements Golden Core, entering a whole new realm of understanding of the Dao of the Five Elements and its principles.

With this, using the five Five Elements Magic Artifacts as materials to refine a Lower or Middle Grade Spiritual Treasure was no suspense.

The endeavor of cultivation can sometimes be full of suspense, tension, and excitement, other times everything falls into place as if it were meant to be.

For Xu Yang, it was the latter case right now.

The Divine Light of the Five Elements shone, reshaping the form of the five treasures.

In the end, the shadows of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise, and Kylin representing the Five Spirits reemerged, with azure, yellow, red, white, and black light converging into a single point of Five Elements Chaos Yuan Light.

Within the Chaos Yuan Light, the shadows of a tree, a sword, a bead, a tripod, and a seal, the five treasures, gradually faded, leaving behind only a Spiritual Pearl.

A Lower Grade Spiritual Treasure—Five Elements Orb!

Just Lower Grade?

Just Lower Grade!

There was no helping it; although a Robbing Cultivator has some assets, the ceiling of capability was not high, preventing the refining of Supreme Grade or higher Magical Artifacts.

Because of the low ceiling and the need to maintain the balance of the Five Elements, Xu Yang could only refine a set of Lower Grade Five Elements Magic Artifacts in the end.

A Lower Grade Magic Artifact: even when all Five Elements were combined, it could only achieve the status of a Lower Grade Spiritual Treasure, and not attain the Middle Grade.

“But this is enough!”

There was no reason to disdain something refined by one’s own hand. Xu Yang smiled, and with a surge of mana, a divine light emerged from within the Five Elements Orb, shining with azure, yellow, red, white, and black lights, forming a tree, a sword, a bead, a tripod, and a seal once again.

Xu Yang swept his sleeves, and a thousand rays of Spirit Light burst forth.

“Ao!”

As soon as the Spirit Light emerged, a dragon chant was heard, with the YiWood Precious Tree drawing forth a shadow of an Azure Dragon among the thousand rays of Spirit Light.

With the YiWood Tree taking the lead, the Xinjin Sword, Ding Fire Bead, Kui Water Tripod, and Jitu Seal were not to be outdone, each drawing forth divine beast shadows from among the rays of Spirit Light.

Then, with dragons soaring and tigers leaping, with bird cries and resounding calls, the shadows of the Five Elements True Spirits mingled, building forms around the Five Elements Orb.

In just a moment, a Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor materialized before him.

“Ha!”

Xu Yang let out a loud laugh, exhaling golden light from his Heavenly Spirit as the Taoism Yang God flew out, entering the body of the Mech Armor.

Immediately…

“Ka Ka Ka!”

A hundred thousand Magic Artifacts responded to his will, and the Spiritual Treasure took humanoid form, with the Mech Armor condensing into shape.

Then, a streak of golden light came hurtling towards him, which he caught with an upraised hand, transforming into a bird-faced, eagle-beaked golden mask.

The Spiritual Treasure’s incarnation wore a smile, putting on the mask, and pronounced in a clear voice, “I am Left Envoy of Jade Capital—Kong Xuan!”