Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 150: Chapter 107: Artifact Refining_1

Translator: 549690339

Several days later, in the real world, inside the small cabin.

Xu Yang opened his eyes and woke up.

Mingxiao Taoist Temple, Hundred Ghosts Forest, Guo Bei Academy, these ventures had all gotten onto the right track, and all that remained was to steadily grow them.

There was nothing much to say about that—just one word: endure!

Enduring through time, accumulating strength.

Until he could resolve the matter of Orchid Temple.

As long as he could solve the problem of the Orchid Ghost Realm, he would have enough prestige to deter all parties, further expand his influence, take complete control of Jinhua Mansion, and even plot for the entire Jiangzhe Province, possibly the whole south.

By then, he would have laid the foundation of a kingly way. He could aspire to rule the entire land, or choose to live securely in his own territory.

During this time, he could also spare some attention to deal with matters in the real world.

With a hundredfold time difference, more than twenty years had passed in the dream, and in reality, more than two months had gone by.

In the course of those two months, aside from some inconsequential flies, no one had come to disturb his peaceful life, nor had there been any particularly important or major events.

After all, this was the mundane world, where high-tier cultivators like those at the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stages were rarely seen, let alone Qi Cultivation late-stage little grasshoppers.

The storms of the Cultivation World rarely reached this barren land.

Xu Yang’s initial choice was very correct; the place was secure enough as long as there were no accidents.

However, the peace and tranquility for the time being did not make him idle and content with the status quo.

In the Cultivation World, it was survival of the fittest!

If he didn’t want to become someone else’s prey, he had to be industrious and find all sorts of ways to enhance his strength.

Xu Yang decided to transfer some of the gains from his recent foray into the dream world into reality.

What gains?

Two main directions.

One was Ghost Enslaving Skills, increase life and damage fate!

The other was the Thunder Series True Scripture, Ancestor Master’s Altar!

He decided to construct a Yin Altar Soldier Tomb, gather Underworld Souls and Evil Ghosts, refine two generals to increase life and damage fate, and then build a “Nine Heavens’ Responsive Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable” Mana Altar to enshrine for future fighting uses.

Both of these belonged to skills useful for fighting, capable of effectively enhancing his combat power.

As for the Xuanyuan Divine Sword and the Method of Heaven, Earth and Man’s Three Talents, they required too many conditions and significant investments, so he temporarily put them aside.

These were the main directions.

There were also some secondary branches, like Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Talisman Making, and Array Setting, which were also methods of enhancement.

In addition, the transmission of the Supreme Yin Body Training Skill also needed to be scheduled to quickly train a group of people to handle the miscellaneous affairs on the island.

In short, there was a lot to be busy with.

But busy as he was, Xu Yang was not disorganized.

He methodically completed the daily tasks of farming and feeding before he began new work.

He took out a green-skinned gourd and with a leap, shot into the sky.

In the sky, the clouds and winds were changing.

“Pop!”

Xu Yang activated his mana, pointed with his sword, opened the gourd’s stopper, and immediately an astonishing suction force emerged, pulling the surrounding clouds and airflow and incessantly drawing them inside.

Imitation Swallowing the Sky Gourd!

This was an artifact he had forged, using a magical treasure from the World of Dao and Law as a reference, after purchasing materials from the Cultivation Market some time ago.

The true Swallowing the Sky Gourd was a magical treasure of the World of Dao and Law, a relic left by Ancient Immortal Gods.

Its power was self-explanatory; it could contain the atmospheric phenomena of heaven and earth, such as frost, rain, and thunder and lightning.

The wind, frost, rain, and snow here are not ordinary; they are all extreme atmospheric phenomena from above the nine heavens. The wind becomes fierce gales, frost becomes harsh frost, rain becomes poisonous rain, snow becomes deathly snow, and the thunder and lightning are Nine Heavens Divine Thunder.

It can take in all atmospheric phenomena from heaven and earth and use them to attack and fight, hence the name Swallowing the Sky Gourd.

The one Xu Yang held was merely a poor imitation based on descriptions in Taoist Scriptures and his own understanding of the Path of Artifact Refining; it did not possess the capability to harness the extreme auras of the nine heavens.

However, it could still collect some ordinary atmospheric phenomena.

During this time, he had already gathered wind, clouds, dawn light, smoke, frost, snow, rainwater, and thunder and lightning.

These collections were not intended for combat but were meant for artifact refining.

He was preparing to forge a magical treasure from the World of Dao and Law.

Its name—Cumulated Thunder Cloud!

After research, Xu Yang found that cultivators from the World of Dao and Law lean towards… antiquity?

Cultivators in the real world mainly use flying boats as their flying artifacts.

But in the World of Dao and Law, riding clouds and fog is mainstream, with flying ships being a rarity.

Nonetheless, as a pragmatist, Xu Yang only cared about practicality.

The practicality of this Cumulated Thunder Cloud was quite impressive.

To forge this treasure, one must collect the winds and clouds, dawn light, smoke, frost, snow, rainwater, and thunder and lightning from the sky, and refine them into one thunder cloud.

Once this cloud was refined, one could activate the power of wind, clouds, dawn light, smoke, frost, snow, rainwater, and thunder and lightning, supplemented by casting spells to greatly enhance its might.

Moreover, it could absorb atmospheric phenomena from heaven and earth, strengthening its power, reducing its consumption, and even transforming it into mana to replenish the owner. When engaged in battle, it not only served as both offense and defense but also had recovery effects, truly an all-in-one capability.

When used as a flying artifact, it could reduce or even exempt the influence of weather. Even in torrential downpours and roaring thunder, it could still traverse the earth and sky without fear of thunder strikes and could even use the momentum of the wind, clouds, and thunder to increase its flight speed.

With such an all-round, practical magic artifact, how could I not acquire one?

The same vest, “Shi Jian” in the world of Dao and Law had already refined one, and naturally, my original self must also be fully equipped.

Xu Yang gathered the winds and clouds, then the rosy glows, and finally even the unique misty fog of Dongting Lake was mostly devoured until the gourd was filled. He then returned to the island to begin the artifact refining.

Since it was a “cloud and mist” class artifact, there was no need for a spiritual fire furnace; it could just be refined using Thunder Series techniques.

Speaking of Thunder Series techniques, Xu Yang thought of the “Thunder Lightning Mana King” trait again.

He had coveted this trait for a long time.

Unfortunately, his cultivation was too weak and his Divine Soul too fragile to transfer this skill trait back.

Otherwise, this refining would have been almost guaranteed to succeed.

Luckily, he wasn’t far off now.

After all, he had mastered the first-tier Path of Artifact Refining and had studied for many years in the world of Dao and Law. The refining of Cumulated thundercloud had already become second nature, a well-trodden path, so even without the “Thunder Lightning Mana King” trait to strengthen him, it was hardly likely he’d fail. At worst, the quality of the artifact he refined would be slightly lower.

He simply tossed the “Swallowing the Sky Gourd” without releasing the various weathers it contained, directly stimulated the Thunderbolt Strength, and started refining it together with the gourd.

Using thunder as the fire!

Using the gourd as the furnace!

“Boom boom boom!”

Flashes of electricity and peals of thunder were a sight to behold.

Mana was stimulated one after another, turning into resounding thunderbolts, striking into the Swallowing the Sky Gourd.

The little green-skinned gourd tumbled and turned in the flashing thunder, the mouth of the gourd shifting between swirling winds and clouds, spewing rosy glows, and then steaming fog, amidst the lightning and thunder, the various weathers changing unpredictably, gradually becoming one.

And so it went, for who knows how long…

“Go!!!”

Xu Yang formed hand seals, the mana surged, and the final bolt of thunder was unleashed, roaring into the inside of the Swallowing the Sky Gourd.

“Buzz!”

“Boom boom boom!”

The Swallowing the Sky Gourd trembled, with flashes of thunder inside, followed by the ejection of a beam of rosy light that solidified into a deep and significant black cloud with lightning traversing through it.

Indeed — it was the Cumulated thundercloud!

“Supreme Grade Magic Artifact!”

Xu Yang, looking at his own creation, however, shook his head with some regret: “What a pity!”

This refining, without the blessing of the “Thunder Lightning Mana King” and without the protection of the “Ancestor Master’s Altar”, inevitably resulted in a reduced quality of the finished product.

In the world of Dao and Law, the Cumulated thundercloud in “Shi Jian”‘s hands was a genuine Supreme Grade magic artifact, even possessing the potential to ascend into a Spiritual Artifact.

All that was thanks to the merits of the “Thunder Lightning Mana King” and the “Ancestor Master’s Altar”.

In the real world, without these blessings, the Cumulated thundercloud he refined was merely a Supreme Grade magic artifact with mediocre quality, its potential exhausted.

Although, with his current cultivation, a Supreme Grade magic artifact was barely sufficient, he still felt a slight sense of loss.

“Maybe, after the Thunder Lightning Mana King trait is transferred here, I could go to various Cultivation Markets and collect some special meteorological items. Perhaps then I could refine a Cumulated thundercloud of Spiritual Artifact level.”

“If I manage to gather some special stormy clouds or strange and unusual phenomena, there might even be a future possibility of refining a Cumulated thundercloud of Magical Treasure level.”

Xu Yang mused for a while, then gathered up the Swallowing the Sky Gourd, which had accomplished its task, and stepped atop the dark and substantial Cumulated thundercloud, heading out from the island.

Once the magic artifact was refined, the next task was the Mana Altar.

He planned to build two Altars.

One Yin Altar and one Thunder Altar.

Compared with magic artifacts, the conditions for constructing an Altar were much more lenient.

This wasn’t to say that Altars were inferior to magic artifacts, but rather that Altars did not require a one-time definitive shape.

The poor have their ways to create an Altar, the wealthy their particularities. If you don’t have the conditions, you can make an arbitrary Altar and offer mana and incense day and night; it is still an Altar, albeit not very powerful.

Once you have the conditions, you can always add bricks and tiles, replace them with various quality materials, and enhance the power of the Altar. This can be done bit by bit and it doesn’t have to be perfect on the first try.

The longer an Altar is built and worshipped, the more terrifying its power became.

This was also one of the reasons for Xu Yang’s slow development in the world of Dao and Law.

The profound potentiality of the major sects was too deep. Not to mention the magical treasures left behind by the Immortal Gods, but even the Mana Altars they had worshipped for thousands of years were formidable weapons, deterring others from encroaching.

If you can’t beat them, then you must stay low-key and develop slowly.

I digress; back to the main point, Altars are not only useful for fighting but are also extremely helpful for cultivation, alchemy, artifact refining, talisman making, array setting, and more. Given the chance, you should strive to build it perfectly.

Xu Yang had a small fortune by now, and his conditions weren’t too shabby, so he decided to visit various Cultivation Markets to purchase quality materials for constructing the Altars.

Recently, there were rumors in the market that the Three Sects of Golden Core were going to open the Hundred Thousand Mountains, and material prices were low. Not to take advantage of this opportunity to buy low would truly be a disservice to himself.

And so, Xu Yang rode the Cumulated thundercloud and quickly arrived at the familiar White Dragon Island market.

But as soon as he entered White Dragon Island, he realized…

There was a pervasive sense of sorrow and despair in the market.

How sorrowful and desperate?

He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

If forced to describe it, it felt like the rooftop after a financial crisis or stock market collapse.

What had happened?

Xu Yang furrowed his brows, looking at one after another cultivator with pale faces and despairing eyes. After a moment of hesitation, he finally headed towards the White Dragon Tower.