Chapter 558 - 59: Spirit-Slaying Flying Knife, Qingyun Spirit Testing

「Luoxia City, Celestial Sound Mountain Peak, Earth-Character Seclusion Chamber.」

Song Changsheng sat cross-legged and bare-chested upon a Tai Chi Diagram. On the wall before him hung a piece of white paper on which he had copied the character for "Dao."

He focused his spirit, calmed his breath, and centered his awareness on his Dantian. Every inhalation and exhalation was filled with a certain mystique.

After his Mana had completed several Circulations through his body, Song Changsheng opened his eyes. With a wave of his sleeve, a Three-legged Double-Eared Bronze Cauldron appeared before him.

He had specially retrieved this from the Clan Treasure Vault before he left. Because both sides were engraved with a Golden Crow taking flight, it was named the Golden Crow Cauldron. It was a Tier Three Low Grade artifact, perfectly suited for Artifact Refining.

Assailing the Purple Mansion realm was no child’s play; one needed to adjust their condition to its absolute peak before attempting a breakthrough.

Everyone had their own method of adjustment. Song Changsheng’s habit was to perform Artifact Refining before a breakthrough. It allowed him to heighten his focus, clear his mind, and enter the perfect state to break through.

Song Changsheng opened his mouth and spat out a ball of ethereal blue flame, which landed beneath the Golden Crow Cauldron. He then watched quietly as the tongues of fire licked at the cauldron’s base. After about a quarter of an hour, he took a purple crystal out of his Storage Bag.

This was the Purple Crystal Celestial Heart he had obtained some days ago, an exceptional material for raising a Magical Artifact’s grade and Spiritual Attribute, and most suitable for upgrading a Lifebound Spiritual Artifact.

He tossed it into the cauldron and smelted it without rest for three days and nights, until it turned into a pale purple Crystal Stone Powder.

After completing the first step, Song Changsheng added nine different Tier Three materials in succession: a pinch of Purple Crystal Sand, five pounds of Dragon Pattern Steel, two pounds of Meteorite Iron, and more. It took twenty-four hours to smelt them all into a liquid state.

Only after all this was done did he place the Yin Yang Spirit-Slaying Gourd into the Golden Crow Cauldron.

Song Changsheng’s concentration was absolute as he meticulously stripped away the gourd’s original shell to reshape it. This was an incredibly time-consuming process.

After much deliberation, Song Changsheng took out the Red Flame Gilded Gold he had acquired recently. This was a rare Tier Three Fire Attribute material, typically only found in millennia-old active volcanoes, and was incredibly valuable.

The piece in his hand was large enough to refine a high-quality Tier Three Fire Attribute Magical Artifact.

Song Changsheng had no shortage of Magical Artifacts. He planned to refine this material into a flying knife, forge it into the Yin Yang Spirit-Slaying Gourd, and then merge the originally formless Spirit-Slaying Blade with it, creating the Spirit-Slaying Flying Knife.

The advantage of this was that it would increase the power of the Spirit-Slaying Blade. It would no longer target only the enemy’s Divine Soul; it would slay the form as well as the soul.

But the disadvantage was also obvious: it would lose its original stealth.

However, a Purple Mansion Cultivator’s Divine Sense was already refined to a microscopic level of detail, so it made little difference whether the attack was tangible or intangible.

All in all, the pros outweighed the cons.

Furthermore, the more blood the Spirit-Slaying Flying Knife tasted, the denser the Evil Qi upon its blade would become. After reaching a certain threshold, it would be able to ignore a Cultivator’s Protective Spiritual Gang, essentially adding an Armor-Piercing effect. Used well, it could produce surprisingly effective results.

Under Song Changsheng’s meticulous forging, a golden flying knife about a foot long appeared before his eyes.

He bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of his virgin Essence Blood, fusing it into the knife and coating the blade with a bloody sheen and a layer of Evil Qi.

"Fuse!"

With a soft cry, the golden knife was drawn into the gourd. The Spirit-Slaying Blade, formed from a wisp of Song Changsheng’s Divine Soul, merged perfectly with it.

Song Changsheng’s hands formed a series of seals, which he rapidly pressed forward to begin the final refinement.

BUZZ—

A brilliant light bloomed as the Yin Yang Spirit-Slaying Gourd shot into the air. Swirls of Purple Qi surrounded it, and the Spiritual Light on its surface rippled like an autumn lake.

At that moment, it completed its initial transformation, advancing from a Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact to a Low-Grade Treasure. However, it was still only a semi-finished product; it wouldn’t be a complete Magical Treasure until it nurtured an Artifact Spirit.

Song Changsheng slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his face filled with joy. After forty-nine days, it was finally done.

He reached out and summoned the gourd back to him. Its appearance was not much different than before, still black and white. Only upon close inspection could one notice the faint, pale purple luster on its surface.

"Gourd, slay the spirit!"

Song Changsheng flicked his sword-fingers. A flaming golden knife shot out from the gourd’s mouth and slashed violently toward the ceiling. The instant before impact, Song Changsheng’s fingers twitched, and the flying knife abruptly changed course, carving an arc through the air before disappearing back into the gourd.

’What a treasure,’ Song Changsheng couldn’t help but praise. The knife moved with his will; its maneuverability was much greater than before.

He drew the gourd into his Middle Dantian to nurture it with his Mana. Taking a deep breath, Song Changsheng slowly closed his eyes. His condition was now adjusted to its absolute peak.

Now, he would formally begin his assault on the Purple Mansion. The process would be long—three to five years at minimum, or even more than a decade without seeing the light of day.

But Song Changsheng firmly believed that he would succeed!

——————

Time flew by. In the first year of Song Changsheng’s seclusion, a man in ragged clothes emerged from the Yellow Sand Gobi of the Lu Country Cultivation Realm. His hair was a tangled mess, his beard was scruffy, and he was frightfully gaunt.

Yet his spine was unnaturally straight, like a drawn sword revealing its sharp edge. His eyes, a stark contrast of black and white, were as deep as an abyss.

"It’s unbelievable. You actually made it out of that godforsaken place alive." A voice, filled with astonishment, emanated from a Copper Mirror at the man’s waist.

The man stood on a cliff, gazing out at the endless yellow sand. He paid no heed to the words from the Copper Mirror, murmuring softly, "It’s been five years. Time to go home."