Chương 1285: Chapter 76: Artifact Ascension and the Gathering Storm

Reyn weighed the Earth-Shaking Bell in his palm, feeling the ancient, heavy resonance within its metallic frame. As an Ancient Treasure, its raw destructive potential was already comparable to a high-grade magic treasure. A spark of anticipation flickered in his eyes; he wondered what profound metamorphosis would occur if he successfully integrated this relic into the Heaven-Turning Seal.

With a decisive flick of his wrist, he tossed the bell into the air, where it hovered precisely above the seal, suspended by invisible threads of spiritual energy.

"Extract the Earth Essence! Merge!" Reyn let out a low, guttural command. He pointed a finger toward the floating bell, and the artifact immediately let out a mournful, sentient wail, as if it sensed its own impending dissolution. From its bronze surface, thick plumes of ochre smoke began to billow out. This smoke was so dense and viscous that it seemed on the verge of condensing into heavy droplets of liquid earth.

This was the Earth Essence, the very primordial foundation upon which the bell's formidable power was built. Reyn's expression became one of absolute solemnity. Although his Primordial Soul possessed the complete and flawless inheritance of the refining secret arts, he dared not allow even a moment of negligence. A single slip in concentration could lead to the catastrophic failure of the upgrade.

Seeing that the secret art had successfully forced the essence out, he reached out again, his finger descending toward the Heaven-Turning Seal like a falling star. A resonant hum vibrated through the cavern. The seal trembled violently, its surface erupting with a spinning vortex that accelerated until it was a blur of motion. Strands of the ochre smoke were peeled away from the bell and drawn into the vortex, slowly but surely weaving themselves into the structural fabric of the Heaven-Turning Seal.

As the hours bled into days, the aura radiating from the seal grew increasingly tyrannical and oppressive, while the Earth-Shaking Bell's presence withered, its light dimming until it was little more than a hollow shell. Two days later, within the silence of the mountain cave, Reyn's gaze remained fixed on the bell. As the final wisp of Earth Essence was siphoned away, the bell's lusterless body was suddenly overtaken by a web of jagged cracks.

With a brittle snap, it shattered into a thousand fragments of useless debris. In stark contrast, the Heaven-Turning Seal erupted with a brilliant, ochre divine light. A heavy, mountain-like pressure exploded from the artifact, filling the cave with a suffocating weight. Simultaneously, a wave of violent, chaotic energy began to pulse from its core, growing more turbulent by the second. The most perilous stage of the ascension—the Smelting—had arrived.

At this critical juncture, the newly absorbed Earth Essence had not yet harmonized with the seal's original structure. The two forces were clashing in a fierce struggle of rejection. If this instability were not quelled immediately, the artifact would self-destruct, and the backlash would be devastating. Reyn remained impassive, his face a mask of calm as if he had long foreseen this crisis.

His hands moved with the grace of butterflies dancing through a thicket, weaving a complex series of hand seals with blinding speed. Each incantation was timed with surgical precision, sinking into the Heaven-Turning Seal to neutralize a portion of the rampaging energy. Under his relentless guidance, the volatile fluctuations began to subside. He did not relax; his fingers continued their intricate ballet, ensuring every seal was placed with absolute accuracy.

With the final seal successfully integrated, the last tremor of chaos vanished. A soft, earthy glow washed over the artifact before it descended gently into Reyn's waiting hand. The upgraded Heaven-Turning Seal had become remarkably understated. Its color was deep and reserved, its rectangular shape now slightly flatter and more elongated. It bore a striking resemblance to the most infamous weapon of a common street brawler—the humble brick. However, as Reyn gripped it, a flash of pure joy ignited in his eyes.

The fusion had pushed the seal into the ranks of Top-grade Magic Treasures, its power now several times greater than its previous iteration. After calming his racing heart, Reyn stowed the seal and produced a pitch-black, lotus-leaf-shaped artifact taken from Ning Wushang's storage bag. This was the Azure Lotus Leaf, refined from the thousand-year-old foliage of the Great Azure Water-Lily. Its defensive capabilities rivaled any high-grade protective treasure.

To ensure his survival in the coming conflict, he needed to master it now. He bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the leaf.

"Blood Refinement, activate!" His face paled slightly from the loss of essence, but the vast vitality granted by the White Jade Dragon-Whiskers Rice surged through his veins, replenishing the loss in a mere breath. As he performed the refinement seals, the Azure Lotus Leaf began to emit a dark, eerie luminescence, shot through with veins of crimson blood, marking the beginning of its total submission to his will.

Back when Reyn had first attempted to blood-refine that Shura Secret Bone, a mere two hundred hand seals had pushed him to the brink of exhaustion, leaving him gasping and drained. But today, he was no longer the fledgling he once was. With his Primordial Soul and mana having surged to terrifying heights, the process of refining the Azure Lotus Leaf felt as effortless as a gentle breeze rippling across a pond. Half an hour trickled by in meditative silence.

As the two hundred and ninety-ninth seal was struck with a resonant hum, the Azure Lotus Leaf erupted in a sudden, violent burst of obsidian radiance. Within that gloom, thin, crimson threads began to weave through the leaf like the intricate network of human meridians, pulsing with a life of their own. Moments later, the dark light and the sanguine veins receded, and the Azure Lotus Leaf returned to its unassuming form.

Yet, in that instant, a profound sensation of blood-kinship blossomed in Reyn's heart, anchoring the artifact to his very soul. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. With the blood-refining complete, the Azure Lotus Leaf had become Reyn's exclusive soul-bound treasure.

Even if it were to fall into the hands of another cultivator in the future, the mark of his blood was so deeply etched that unless their cultivation surpassed his by an entire major realm, they would find it impossible to erase his brand. Reyn weighed the leaf in his palm, a flicker of satisfaction crossing his features. He was now armed with the Top-grade Heaven-Turning Seal for absolute offense and the High-grade Azure Lotus Leaf for impenetrable defense.

When combined with his Primordial Soul—which, bolstered by the golden seal, now rivaled a Mid-stage Golden Core expert—his combat prowess was formidable. He was confident he could hold his own against any Mid-stage Golden Core cultivator.

And if he factored in the Shura Secret Bone, which possessed its own Mid-stage Golden Core strength, alongside his legion of a hundred Foundation Establishment-level blood skeletons, Reyn knew that even if he faced a Late-stage Golden Core master, he might not win, but his survival was all but guaranteed. With a flick of his wrist, he stowed the Heaven-Turning Seal and the Azure Lotus Leaf into his storage bag. He then produced two grains of White Jade Dragon-Whiskers Rice.

One grain was sent directly into his Primordial Soul for Yu Meiren to refine and absorb, while the other was enveloped in a cocoon of spiritual energy and swallowed, his internal fires immediately beginning the process of transmutation. White Jade Dragon-Whiskers Rice was a divine anomaly, a treasure so rare that even in the Spirit Realm, it might not appear once in ten thousand years. A single grain contained the equivalent of a hundred years of mortal lifespan.

For a cultivator, refining it did more than just extend their years; it acted as a celestial forge for the physical body. Even without practicing specialized body-tempering techniques, one's physique would grow increasingly resilient, eventually reaching a state comparable to a magic treasure itself, where every gesture carried the weight of a mountain-shattering decree. As his spiritual energy worked upon the grain, torrents of pure, vibrant life essence surged from the rice, flooding Reyn's limbs and bones.

The exhaustion he had incurred from upgrading the Heaven-Turning Seal and blood-refining the Azure Lotus Leaf vanished in a heartbeat, replaced by a revitalizing warmth. Furthermore, during this refinement, a strange, crystalline coolness began to seep into his Primordial Soul. Though his cultivation level did not physically increase, an indescribable sense of clarity began to permeate his consciousness.

It was as if the veil over the world had been lifted; the reality perceived by his divine sense became sharper, more vivid, and infinitely more detailed. Reyn did not fully grasp the implications of this newfound clarity, but his instincts whispered that this was a monumental boon. If he could truly master this heightened perception, it would undoubtedly lead to a grand karmic opportunity. Immersed in the profound depths of this clarity, Reyn's breathing became slow and rhythmic.

He failed to notice that as time slipped away, though his soul's power level remained steady, it was becoming increasingly condensed and purified. It was a process of refinement that, once it reached a critical threshold, would only require a single spark to trigger a staggering qualitative transformation. Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Reyn's eyes snapped open, and he exhaled a breath of turbid, greyish air.

A faint shimmer of spiritual light danced across his refined features before fading into a calm, stoic mask. Yet, his eyes—dark and boundless—seemed deeper than ever before, resembling an unfathomable abyss or a lightless sea that commanded instinctive dread from any who dared look too closely. Since entering the Trial Realm, Reyn had been in a state of constant, high-strung vigilance, walking as if on thin ice.

These three days of seclusion had not only restored his power to its peak but had also allowed his frayed nerves to mend. Far from feeling the lethargy that often follows the release of tension, his eyes shone with a brilliant, piercing light. A titanic battle intent was slowly coalescing in his heart, like a dragon slumbering at the bottom of a lake, waiting for the moment to ascend and make the world tremble. Suddenly, his expression shifted.

He tapped his storage bag, and the azure Trial Stone flew into his hand. The stone was now pulsing with a soft, rhythmic glow. A miniature vortex had manifested on its surface, and not far from the center, a faint white dot flickered with urgency.

"So, the final three-day deadline has arrived?" Reyn observed the changes on the stone, his lips curling into a cold, predatory sneer.

"It seems I must hurry. I wouldn't want to miss the grand finale."

"Wei Qubing of the Three Thousand Dao Sect, Yin Wuyu of the Supreme Demon Sect... both of you, wait for me!" With those words, he stowed the Trial Stone. Stepping to the mouth of the cave, he transformed into a streak of azure light, a rainbow cutting across the sky as he hurtled toward the exit of the Trial Realm. Simultaneously, every cultivator scattered across the Trial Realm felt the same resonance from their stones.

In a gloomy, lightless forest where grey mists blotted out the sun, the air was thick with a bone-chilling frost. Even though it was midday, visibility was restricted to a mere few feet. However, within this fog, a strange phenomenon was occurring: the grey mist was being forcibly sucked into a single point, forming a vortex several zhang wide. Deep within the swirling vapors, the silhouette of a seated figure was barely visible.

"Oh? Has the one-month limit reached its end so soon?" A voice filled with surprise echoed through the trees. The vortex stalled and then dissipated, revealing a handsome but deathly pale cultivator in voluminous black robes. His eyes held a trace of lingering regret as he sighed.

"Such a divine land for cultivation. If this place belonged to my Huanming Sect, I would be confident in striking the Golden Core realm within three years! Even with only a month here, my Xuanyin mana has become significantly more refined. By using my secret arts to forcibly devour the yin energy here, my cultivation has jumped from the initial entry of the Mid-Foundation Establishment stage to the very peak. I am but a step from the Late-stage, saving myself at least two years of bitter toil!"

"But since it is time to return, I must head to the exit. A fierce struggle is bound to erupt. If fortune favors me, perhaps I can fish in troubled waters and claim that Mu Jade Sword for myself." The man murmured to himself, his face twisting into a sinister, chilling smile.