Lu Changsheng gently stroked the terrifying cracks along the edge of the shield, as if caressing his own treasured feathers. His face was full of infatuation and heartache.
"What kind of grudge, and what kind of force, could beat an Innate Spirit Treasure into this state?"
He cautiously sent his divine sense into the shield.
The moment he did, his brows knitted tightly together.
The situation was even worse than he had imagined.
Inside the Mysterious Yellow Shield, most of its innate restrictions had been burned away by an extremely overbearing fire law.
Only the very core restriction of its origin remained, barely functioning to keep the spirit treasure from falling in rank.
If an ordinary cultivator got their hands on this shield,
even a Daluo Golden Immortal would have to expend endless effort and an immeasurable number of rare treasures of heaven and earth to repair it.
One false move while forcibly rebuilding the restrictions could even make the spirit treasure collapse completely, leaving nothing but a pile of scrap metal.
"No wonder Nuwa said there was a faint treasure light here, yet no one dared come take it."
Lu Changsheng withdrew his divine sense, suddenly understanding.
"First, the Tribulation Sha Qi in Phoenix Fall Valley is terrifying. Ordinary people can't even get in."
"Second, even if an expert did make it inside, they'd find a defensive magic treasure so badly damaged it's practically useless. And they'd have to risk getting entangled in karmic baleful energy on top of that. It just wouldn't be worth it."
"But it's different for me!"
The corners of Lu Changsheng's mouth curled into a delighted grin.
He had nothing else, but he had merit in abundance!
What was merit? The most versatile adhesive in heaven and earth, and the ultimate restorative elixir!
As long as he was willing to pour in enough merit, he could breathe life back into anything—even a magic treasure shattered to dust, never mind a few damaged restrictions!
"No time to waste. I'll refine it right here!"
Lu Changsheng looked around.
Although he had drawn away some of the baleful energy at the heart of Phoenix Fall Valley, the outer areas were still shrouded in thick Calamity Sha Mist.
This natural death trap had instead become the safest shelter available to him.
Besides, he'd just earned a fortune in Heavenly Dao Merit by clearing away the baleful energy. His purse was full, and he had confidence to spare.
"Come on out, old friends!"
Lu Changsheng gave his wings a flap.
A clatter of one hundred and eight sets of formation plates tumbled out from beneath his feathers.
They were all top-grade concealment and defensive formations he'd kept hidden away for a rainy day.
"Set the formations!"
As his magical power surged, one hundred and eight grand formations spread out in layers around him, sealing off the heart of the spiritual cavern completely.
From the outside, it still looked like a desolate abyss of baleful energy. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Only after he had finished everything did Lu Changsheng sit down cross-legged in peace.
He floated the battered Mysterious Yellow Shield in front of his chest.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm going all in today!"
Lu Changsheng took a deep breath, his gaze turning resolute.
He didn't try to forcibly refine it with his weak True Immortal magical power. Instead, he went straight to his dantian.
"Heavenly Dao Merit, come forth!"
At his low cry, the three thousand years' worth of Heavenly Dao Merit he had just earned in Phoenix Fall Valley surged from his mouth, enveloping the Mysterious Yellow Shield completely.
"Chiii, chiii, chiii—"
The golden light of merit touched the damaged restrictions inside the shield, and a faint hissing sound rose as it dissolved them.
The foreign laws that lingered in the magic treasure were being forcibly driven out by the pure Heavenly Dao Merit.
As those foreign laws faded, the shield's dull surface gradually brightened, revealing a trace of the deep, heavy luster it should have had.
But it still wasn't nearly enough.
Heavenly Dao Merit could only drive away impurities. It wasn't powerful enough to repair the damaged innate restrictions of its origin.
"I'll have to bleed for it..."
Lu Changsheng clenched his teeth, a pained look flashing across his face.
But he knew what mattered most. A perfect innate defensive spirit treasure would be vital to his survival in the Primordial Land.
"Damn it, I'm doing it!"
He sank his mind into its deepest reaches and cautiously drew out a trace of the Great Dao Merit's origin.
The instant this breath of origin, imbued with an exalted will capable of splitting heaven and earth, slowly merged with the Mysterious Yellow Shield—
A miracle happened.
"Vmmm!"
The Mysterious Yellow Shield shuddered violently, more than ever before.
It was as if someone on the brink of death had just swallowed an immortal elixir. Nourished by the Great Dao Merit, the broken innate restrictions began to grow back and reconnect at an astonishing pace.
The terrifying cracks along the shield's edges slowly drew together, like wounds knitting closed.
The first innate restriction, repaired!
The second innate restriction, repaired!
Lu Changsheng kept his eyes shut, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Refining and repairing an Innate Spirit Treasure was an extremely taxing process.
He had to focus every bit of his attention on guiding the power of merit. One slight misstep, and all his efforts would be for nothing.
Time passed silently in the dark crevice.
One hundred years.
Three hundred years.
Eight hundred years.
A full fifteen hundred years passed.
"Crack."
With one last faint snap,
the Mysterious Yellow Shield floating in front of Lu Changsheng finally stopped trembling.
The battered scrap of iron, originally no bigger than his palm, had completely changed.
It was still a deep, ancient yellow, but every crack had vanished, replaced by a warm, flowing sheen.
Across the shield's surface, twelve intact innate restrictions linked together, radiating a terrifying aura of natural perfection that could withstand all laws.
"It's... it's done!"
Lu Changsheng slowly opened his eyes. He could feel the bond between the shield and his primordial spirit, as close as blood ties, and his whole body trembled with excitement.
Twelve innate restrictions.
It was a peak-grade low-tier Innate Spirit Treasure, an exceptional defensive magic treasure that had even brushed against the threshold of the middle tier!
And because he had repaired and refined it with his Great Dao Merit, the shield not only possessed the ultimate in physical and magical defense, it had also gained an incredible attribute that filled him with joy.
Concealment of karma!
With this shield protecting him, even an expert at the peak of the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm using divination to calculate his whereabouts would see only a chaotic blur. They would be completely unable to detect his origins or where he had gone!
"Hahahahaha! With this treasure, I finally have a real get-out-of-death-free pass in the Primordial Land!"
Lu Changsheng could no longer contain his delight. He burst into laughter within the formations.
He focused his mind.
The Mysterious Yellow Shield instantly turned into a streak of light and entered his body. At last, it floated quietly in the depths of his primordial spirit, radiating a heavy yellow glow that shielded his spirit from harm.
"Now that feels good!"
Lu Changsheng stood up and stretched mightily. His bones cracked like beans popping in a pan.
Although he'd spent all the Heavenly Dao Merit he had just earned repairing the treasure—and even paid a trace of his Great Dao origin on top—he felt the deal had been an absolute steal.
"This place isn't safe to linger in. I've got my fortune. Time to head straight home!"
Lu Changsheng regained the good sense of a man who followed the Dao of Cowardice.
He quickly gathered up the one hundred and eight sets of formation plates and erased every trace of his refining work.
But just as he withdrew the last concealment formation and prepared to use an earth-escape technique to leave Phoenix Fall Valley,
the Cowardly Immortal Vine wrapped around his wrist suddenly tightened violently, without warning!
"Vmmm!"
An unprecedentedly intense warning surged through the vine and stabbed straight into Lu Changsheng's mind.
"Not good! Something's coming! And it's moving fast!"
Before you continue