Refining

"Run! This artifact is not something we can subdue!"

Xu Yan shouted sharply.

The two of them scrambled to activate the Great Teleportation Token while fleeing back along the path they had come.

Behind them, gusts of baleful wind rose, accompanied by shrill, ghostly laughter that made their skin crawl. The Great Banner stirred up rolling waves of Dharma power, whistling through the air and covering ten zhang in a single instant.

Reaching the gate, Xu Yan immediately activated the Edict Script to shatter the barrier.

Without a word, the two stepped through to the other side.

Outside, nearly everyone from Nine Star Kui Island was present. Murong Yan and Tuoba Yao were holding ancient Mystic Gate books, their brows locked in concentration as they calculated the array.

There were other cultivators as well, about forty or fifty in total.

Hearing the commotion, they whipped their heads around.

"Xu Yan!"

Murong Yan's eyes darkened, and his disciples prepared to strike. But then, a massive surge of black mist poured out from the gate behind Xu Yan and Qin Yiren. An icy, bone-chilling aura spilled out like a tidal wave, striking terror into everyone present.

"It's too late, jump out of here!"

Xu Yan commanded.

Behind them, the Great Banner followed close, its immense Dharma power causing the surrounding space to tremble. Xu Yan dared not pause for even a second; there was no chance to lock the door.

The Six-Story Pavilion was open on all sides.

By now, the Sky Boat had likely ascended to the ten-thousand-zhang firmament. Against the night sky, the stars appeared gargantuan, as if they were within arm's reach, ready to be plucked.

"What the hell is that!"

"Is this... a Spirit-Born Artifact?"

"How many years of cultivation does this Spirit-Born Artifact have? How can its Dharma power be so tyrannical?"

The Great Banner had emerged, whipping up monstrous ripples of Dharma power that swept through the area like a gale, shaking everything in its path.

The crowd watched with trembling eyes, stunned.

This Spirit-Born Artifact held no benevolence. With a shake of its banner, its vast Dharma power swept up the nearest disciple. Before the horrified eyes of the crowd, that disciple's physical body was devoured at a speed visible to the naked eye!

A shrill scream echoed through the air, and in the blink of an eye, the disciple was reduced to a skeleton.

"Damn it, run!"

The crowd snapped out of their stupor, panicked like ants on a hot pan, and scattered in all directions.

Meanwhile, Xu Yan and Qin Yiren stood at the edge of the Six-Story Pavilion.

Below, the sea of clouds shimmered under the starlight, and the peaks of distant mountains were vaguely visible.

Like dumplings being dropped into a pot, most of the cultivators leaped off, mounting their Dharma artifacts and fleeing in a blind panic!

Xu Yan gripped the Great Teleportation Token tightly, feeling his divine sense and Dharma power surging into the token.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, I will see you in the latter half of the Immortal Treasury."

"Take care, Brother Xu."

Qin Yiren's beautiful eyes flickered, and a faint smile appeared on her cold face.

Her silver Daoist robes fluttered as teleportation array patterns began to emerge around her.

The two leaped.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Whistling winds blew from all directions, carrying rolling clouds.

Around Xu Yan, at the thirty-six celestial positions, array patterns emerged and extended like a spiderweb as the howling wind rushed past his ears.

Xu Yan looked back into the Nine-Story Pavilion, where the snow-white Great Banner was on a killing spree, its terrifying Dharma power sweeping the area as ghostly wails filled the heavens!

Beside him, Qin Yiren had already vanished.

The scenery of the world blurred rapidly. Xu Yan could feel himself hurtling toward the east, as if he were shrinking the earth to inches.

The Great Teleportation Token in his palm emitted a faint glow.

Roughly an incense stick's time later, Xu Yan descended from mid-air.

He felt as though his entire body had been dismantled. Most of his divine sense was exhausted, his head felt heavy and dizzy, and the Dharma power within his body was depleted.

Upon landing, Xu Yan immediately took out a Primal Qi Pill and sat cross-legged on the spot to recover his cultivation.

At the same time, he spread his divine sense to remain vigilant of his surroundings.

It was the dead of night, and the mountains sat in the darkness like hideous, terrifying monsters. From the depths, grotesque roars echoed from time to time—the growls of ghosts and spirits.

After sitting in silence for half an hour, Xu Yan's cultivation had recovered. He immediately summoned his Green Pattern Dharma Sword and stood up, scanning his surroundings with caution.

"Three thousand li, still not enough to reach the latter half of the Immortal Treasury."

Xu Yan thought to himself, glancing at the Great Teleportation Token in his palm.

It had been used once, and its luster had dimmed. It was currently recovering its Dharma power on its own, which would likely take half a day.

Xu Yan pondered his next move.

His current progress, while not matching the first tier of disciples, had already left eighty or ninety percent of the other Daoists behind.

"I'll find a secluded spot first and refine the Wenjin Shuttle."

Xu Yan thought.

Holding his Green Pattern Dharma Sword, he flew into the mountains.

Two hours later, eight hundred li away, Xu Yan used the [Miaoyuan] Edict Script to find a secluded little valley. At this stage, his concern was no longer the other competing disciples, but the creatures within the Immortal Treasury.

Sure enough, as soon as he stepped into the valley, a rustling sound reached his ears.

The valley was a ruin, seemingly the remains of some Daoist sect.

Dense swarms of ghosts were wandering within.

These ghosts had no physical bodies; they were condensed from the world's ambient energy and the killing intent of departed souls. They were the most common type of 'Wandering Baleful Ghost'.

There were over a hundred of them, drifting about with ghostly wails.

Xu Yan flicked his finger, and his Green Pattern Dharma Sword split into sixteen blades, carrying the tyrannical Primordial Mystic Qi as they tore through the sky to strike!

About half an hour later, the ghosts in this area were wiped out.

Xu Yan used his Green Pattern Dharma Sword to carve out a living space within the ruins, then took out an array disk to set up a Spirit Protection Array before sitting down to calm his mind.

From his Qiankun Bag, Xu Yan took out the Wenjin Shuttle.

The shuttle was less than a palm's length, but it was incredibly heavy. Without refining it, it would be impossible to control!

Forged from the Geng Metal of the world's five elements, it was razor-sharp and indestructible. The Wenjin Shuttle trembled slightly in Xu Yan's palm.

As a Spirit-Born Embryo Artifact, it naturally did not possess full sentience like the black Great Banner from before.

Holding the Wenjin Shuttle, he felt a cold, sharp sensation, as if it were about to slice his skin open.

"A Spirit-Born Embryo Artifact is no ordinary Dharma artifact; it must be refined with essence blood."

This was little different from refining a life-bound treasure; their minds would be linked. If the artifact were destroyed, the person who refined it with their essence blood would suffer damage to their divine sense.

Xu Yan took a deep breath, forced a drop of essence blood from his fingertip, and let it fall onto the Wenjin Shuttle!

In less than a breath, it was swallowed by the shuttle.

In an instant, Xu Yan felt his consciousness sink into the Wenjin Shuttle. It was a world of gilded gold, where Edict Scripts swirled like sharp swords, cutting through the sky with a buzzing sound.

Primordial Mystic Qi roared out, and Xu Yan pressed his palms together, enveloping the Wenjin Shuttle.

Refining a Spirit-Born Artifact was undoubtedly best done while it was still an embryo. Like the white Great Banner from before, even if Pulse Opening Daoists like Xu Yan obtained it, they could not refine it unless the artifact spirit was extremely cooperative and offered no resistance.

At the same time, Xu Yan's divine sense entered the Wenjin Shuttle quite smoothly.

Inside, there appeared to be a faint, ethereal halo of light that could be seen but not touched. Xu Yan knew this was the reflection of the artifact spirit's intelligence. With a thought, he slowly enveloped it with his divine sense.

Time slipped away, drop by drop.

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

The valley was silent and still. About an incense stick's time later, a sharp sound of something piercing the air suddenly erupted from beneath the ruins!

Xu Yan shot out from his cave dwelling. Simultaneously, a flying shuttle circled his body. Wherever the Wenjin Shuttle passed, it carried a wisp of Geng Metal energy, its sharpness cutting through the air and causing it to whistle.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

With a thought, the flying shuttle struck with incredible speed, its Dharma power terrifying.

"I wonder if the Hundred Sword Art can be performed with the Wenjin Shuttle."

Xu Yan thought, immediately pressing his fingers together and chanting under his breath.

A few seconds later, a metallic clanging sound rang out. The Wenjin Shuttle nearby suddenly split into two, circling in mid-air. The split shuttle's Dharma power was clearly slightly lower, but still formidable—this was, after all, a Spirit-Born Embryo Artifact.

However, using the Wenjin Shuttle to perform the Hundred Sword Art was clearly more taxing on his divine sense than using the Green Pattern Dharma Sword.

Xu Yan tried it, but after splitting into only five blades, his divine sense began to struggle.

Whoosh!

With a thought, the five golden lights merged back into one, and the Wenjin Shuttle vanished into his sleeve.

"Time to move."

Xu Yan did not waste time. He had rested enough over the past two days, and he had absorbed and cultivated quite a bit of the ambient energy in this valley. The fifth barrier of his pulse opening, the 'Shenque Pass', had also loosened. Once the effects of the Dragon Breath Pill had fully worn off, he might be able to attempt to open the pulse.

With that thought, Xu Yan summoned the Great Teleportation Token and activated it once more.