Bright Abyss Dao-Grace Art

After handling everything, the two hurriedly took out Spirit Stones to absorb and restore their mana. By the following morning, they had recovered seventy to eighty percent of it. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief and begin tallying their gains.

"Although Hong Old Devil escaped this battle—"

"—we killed Zhang Old Devil, the two Zuo Clan Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Lin Taihe, avenging the great hatred of those years. It truly was immensely satisfying."

The Old Clan Leader looked at the several Magical Tools before him. The resentment that had weighed on him for years had been swept away in a single stroke, and he revealed a hearty smile.

Chen Nianzhi smiled faintly and handed over the seized Scarlet Flame Spirit Blade.

"With this, Uncle-Grandfather will be like a tiger that has grown wings."

"Ha ha ha!"

The Old Clan Leader laughed three times and snatched up the Scarlet Flame Spirit Blade.

This Life-bound Magical Treasure was only a step away from becoming a Tier 2 High-grade Magical Tool. As long as it had sufficient Geng-Metal Divine Radiance and Lihuo essence among the Five Elements Essence, it would not be long before it advanced to Tier 2 High-grade.

Most importantly, a Life-bound Magical Treasure was thirty percent more powerful than a Magical Treasure of the same tier, while consuming only thirty percent as much.

With one gain and one reduction, a Life-bound Magical Treasure could accomplish far more than an ordinary Magical Tool, enough to raise the Old Clan Leader's combat strength by another thirty to forty percent.

"Once I refine it into a Tier 2 High-grade tool, with the Blazing Fire Soul-Burning Formation Flags in hand, together with the divine ability Blazing Fire Heavenly Sword and this Life-bound Magical Treasure, I fear I will be able to contend against two or three ordinary Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators."

Chen Changxuan lovingly stroked his Life-bound Magical Treasure and could not help saying joyfully.

As he spoke, he seemed to recall something else. His gaze turned slightly cold. "It is only that Lin Clan..."

Chen Nianzhi gave him a look, then handed over the Ancient Bronze Treasure Pagoda and the Purple Treasure Mirror with a smile.

"With these two treasures—a defensive and an auxiliary Magical Tool—added in, Uncle-Grandfather's strength will likely be nearly invincible among those of the same realm."

"There are always greater people beyond people, and higher heavens beyond heaven. Do not think too highly of me."

The Old Clan Leader came back to himself. There were too many eyes and ears here, so it was not suitable to discuss the Lin Clan.

He took the Ancient Bronze Treasure Pagoda and said with a smile, "With this defensive Magic Treasure, I can directly activate the formation and charge into a host of enemies without fearing for my own safety."

"But you should keep this mirror."

Chen Nianzhi frowned. "Why?"

"Though the Blazing Fire Soul-Burning Formation Flags are immensely powerful, maintaining the grand formation at all times consumes far too much mental energy and mana." The Old Clan Leader said helplessly, "Under such circumstances, simultaneously activating two Tier 2 High-grade Magical Tools is already my limit."

"Your True Essence, on the other hand, is deep and sharp. Your strength is no weaker than that of a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator, so you should be able to barely bring out seventy percent of this treasure's power."

"So it would be better to give it to you. That way, it can achieve its greatest effect."

Hearing this, Chen Nianzhi accepted the Purple Treasure Mirror at last and lovingly stroked it.

Next, the two divided the remaining Magical Tools. The Mingxu Sword was quite formidable, and since the Clan Leader did not lack Magical Tools, it went to Chen Nianzhi.

Zuo Zhouqi's protective Magic Treasure was a small golden shield. Its defensive power was slightly inferior to the Jiuyi Bell's, but it was still quite extraordinary. The two planned to take it back for the Great Elder.

Lin Taihe had also left behind three Tier 2 Magical Tools: a defensive Magical Tool refined from Mystic Iron, an earth-attribute Flying Sword, and a net-shaped Magical Tool.

All three were Tier 2 Low-grade, and their power was rather ordinary. However, the material of that defensive Magical Tool was exceptionally good.

The Old Clan Leader decided that once they reached Heavenly Ruins Mountain, he would melt down that Magical Tool, extract the Mystic Iron, and fuse it into the Jiuyi Bell to strengthen its power.

As for Zhang Old Devil, his possessions were rather shabby. Eight years ago, the Old Clan Leader had struck with the Blazing Fire Heavenly Sword in furious hatred, destroying three or four of his Tier 2 Demon Treasures.

Now, his only Tier 2 Magical Tool was that Tier 2 Low-grade demon banner. This demon banner had clearly been a Demon Treasure refined in recent years; not only was its material mediocre, but the formation patterns inscribed upon it were crudely made as well.

Naturally, the two would not keep such an unremarkable demonic artifact. The Old Clan Leader directly destroyed it, smelted out a small amount of material, and planned to use it to refine the Blazing Sun Heavenly Fire Array Flags in the future.

After dividing the treasures, the caravan continued onward through the vast Great Wilderness.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another month had passed. At last, everyone arrived at Heavenly Ruins Mountain.

"The Heavenly Ruins Mountain Market is up ahead."

Looking at Heavenly Ruins Mountain ahead, the Old Clan Leader stroked his long beard and revealed a faint smile.

Chen Nianzhi looked up as well, a hint of a smile on his face. After more than four months of traveling and toil, they could finally rest for a while.

Over the past month, the Old Clan Leader had directly used the purchased Five Elements Essence, successively fusing one thousand strands of Geng-Metal essence and one thousand two hundred strands of Lihuo essence into the Scarlet Flame Spirit Blade. After continual tempering, he had finally refined this Life-bound Magical Treasure into a Tier 2 High-grade tool.

Besides that, the two opened the several seized Storage Bags and obtained considerable wealth.

Among the four seized Storage Bags, Zhang Old Devil's mostly contained items used by Demonic Cultivators. Only around three hundred Spirit Stones were of use to the two.

This amount of Spirit Stones was pitifully small for a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator, but Demonic Cultivators mostly used Blood Crystals for cultivation. The scarcity of Spirit Stones was within the two's expectations.

Lin Taihe's Storage Bag contained more than nine hundred Spirit Stones. Apart from that, only a wood-attribute cultivation art, the Azure Radiance Long Harmony Art, pleased the two.

The Chen Clan had no wood-attribute cultivation art for the Foundation Establishment Realm. With this wood-attribute art that could be cultivated to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, the Chen Clan's wood-attribute cultivators would no longer be left without an art to practice after reaching Foundation Establishment.

As for Zuo Zhouqi and Zuo Mingxu's Storage Bags, the two were clan cultivators backed by a Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan, so the wealth they had accumulated far exceeded that of the others. After taking inventory, the two discovered that they possessed more than four thousand Spirit Stones.

There were also several bottles of pills for restoring mana and healing injuries. The mana-restoring pills were called Origin-Restoring Pills, Tier 2 Mid-grade pills that could restore fifty percent of a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator's True Essence. Only three remained in the bottle.

It seemed the two had prepared for the possibility of injury before coming. Unfortunately, they had been suppressed and beaten from beginning to end, never having a chance to swallow the pills and recover their mana or injuries.

Aside from the pills, they also found a cultivation art in Zuo Mingxu's Storage Bag, named the Bright Abyss Dao-Grace Art.

This was a rather superior cultivation art, capable of being cultivated to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. Though it could not compare to the Chen Clan's Blazing Sun Soaring Void Art and lacked a divine ability comparable to the Blazing Fire Heavenly Sword, it still had considerable merits.

It recorded a method for refining a Life-Bound Dharma Artifact called the Bright Abyss Void Spirit Sword—that was, the Mingxu Sword. Though it was far inferior to the Blazing Fire Return-to-Ruins Sword, it was not much worse than the Clan Leader's Scarlet Flame Spirit Blade.

Though the Scarlet Flame Spirit Blade could not be considered superior, its refining method had been purchased at an auction during the Chen Clan's peak eighty years ago, at the cost of more than twenty thousand Spirit Stones.

After all, once a treasure like a Life-Bound Dharma Artifact was refined, it could rise in tier along with one's cultivation realm. Even if its owner later became a Nascent Soul True Lord, its value would not diminish in the slightest.