A brief silence fell over the cave abode, the four of them wearing different expressions.
Song Yan pondered for a moment before saying, "Senior Yan's ambitions were far-reaching."
"Although I have little knowledge of artifact refining, I know that attempting to forge a Law Treasure without reaching the Golden Core realm is much like a Foundation Establishment cultivator insisting on pursuing the great Dao of the Primordial Spirit. I fear it is not the proper path."
Even standing on that senior's shoulders and investing over a dozen generations of manpower and resources, the chance of finally finding a glimmer of dawn was vanishingly small.
Song Yan did not dismiss it outright; he merely pointed out its difficulties.
Such an act of defying the heavens was even harder than a false-core cultivator seeking a path to a true core.
At these words, the furrows on Yan Heng's face seemed to deepen, and complicated emotions flickered through his clouded eyes.
He first nodded in agreement with Song Yan, then heaved a heavy sigh. "You are right, Senior Song."
"In truth, perhaps the Yan Clan's criticism of us back then was not wrong either."
"This truly is a misguided path, a dead end with almost no hope in sight-"
"But our Grandmaster's final wish was not wrong. We unworthy descendants were the ones who strayed from the path."
Yan Heng's voice was low and hoarse, steeped in exhaustion. "From our Grandmaster Yan Bo's generation onward, my branch has passed this down from one generation to the next,
"Clinging to our Grandmaster's cherished wish.
"To study artifact-refining methods and procure materials, generation after generation sacrificed far too much cultivation time."
"When most of our predecessors exhausted their lifespans, their cultivation was still hovering around the middle or late Qi Refining Stage. They spent their