Chapter 121 - 108: Golden Fire Refining World Scripture

Chapter 121: Chapter 108: Golden Fire Refining World Scripture

Cold Marrow Fire Crystals were born in desolate lands where volcanoes and glaciers met. Adding one during Artifact Refining could grant a Magical Artifact dual attributes of ice and fire. However, they were extremely difficult to obtain and prohibitively expensive.

Earth Core Star Flowing Magma... Five-Colored Heaven Repairing Buds, Spatial Stones, Soul Gold, and so on...

The book recorded all sorts of rare and precious treasures from the Cultivation Realm that were exceedingly difficult to acquire. Adding any of them during Artifact Refining would produce wondrous effects and increase the power of the Magical Artifact.

Zhao Zuo read with great interest, continuing to flip through the pages.

Time passed, and it was around four in the afternoon. He had only read about halfway through the book because he wasn’t just reading; he was committing the contents to memory.

He put the book down because his main task for the day was to choose a new Cultivation Technique, preferably one that included methods for stages beyond Foundation Establishment. That way, he wouldn’t have to change techniques so frequently.

He went up the stairs and, using his Outer Sect Disciple token as a key, stepped onto the Fifth Layer of the Scripture Pavilion. The Fifth Layer was for Outer Sect Disciples, the Sixth Layer was for Inner Sect Disciples, and the highest, the Seventh Layer, was for True Disciples.

With his status, he couldn’t enter the Sixth or Seventh Layers.

The Fifth Layer had significantly fewer bookshelves, with only three sparse rows.

They were labeled: "Cultivation Techniques," "Secret Techniques," and "Magic Skills."

Beside the bookshelves was a single wicker chair, where a gray-robed elder was currently reclining. On a small table next to him were dried fruits, nuts, and a cup of clear tea.

Zhao Zuo didn’t rashly disturb the elder. He walked over to the Cultivation Technique bookshelf. The shelves were organized by Spiritual Root attribute, and his target was Fire Series Cultivation Techniques.

"Refining God Sky-Breaking Technique."

"Heaven-Burning World Refining Technique."

"Overlord Falling World Technique."

The names of these Cultivation Techniques were each more domineering than the last, but a glance at their ratings showed they were all Lower Grade.

The Moyun Sect classified its Cultivation Techniques into three tiers: Scriptures, Classics, and Methods.

Each tier was further divided into three grades: Upper, Middle, and Lower.

Those Cultivation Techniques with extremely domineering names were only Lower Grade, meaning their potential was low. They might even contain errors or omissions. Basically, no one would choose to practice them. Their only use was to serve as a reference for someone who intended to create their own Cultivation Technique.

Zhao Zuo skipped past the low-potential techniques and went directly to the center of the bookshelf, where the rarest and most valuable Scripture-tier Cultivation Techniques were kept.

"Bright Fire Scripture."

"Cyan Flame Scripture."

"Golden Fire Refining World Scripture."

Zhao Zuo first picked up the Bright Fire Scripture and began to look through it.

He quickly discovered that it only contained a three-page summary and an introduction. To purchase the complete manual, he would have to go to the gray-robed elder.

Bright Fire Scripture.

It used the Fire of Heart Clarity to refine the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power. It came with a special Magic Skill, also called Fire of Heart Clarity, which was a flame that could burn away distracting thoughts. Thus, the Bright Fire Scripture’s main characteristic was its stability and balance, making it difficult to suffer a Deviation. Its drawback was that cultivating this technique required a very high Heart Realm to complement it; otherwise, breaking through bottlenecks would be extremely difficult.

Zhao Zuo didn’t consider his Heart Realm to be particularly outstanding, so he immediately gave up on the Bright Fire Scripture.

The Cyan Flame Scripture also came with two exclusive Magic Skills: Cyan Rubbing Flame and Spirit Flame Fire Array.

Its characteristics were producing pure yet violent Mana, and it excelled at greatly boosting combat power. The side effect was that its resource consumption was several times that of ordinary Cultivation Techniques. Furthermore, it required the aid of a Pill Medicine called Cyan Flame to cultivate smoothly.

Obviously, this also didn’t meet Zhao Zuo’s expectations. That left only the Golden Fire Refining World Scripture. This Cultivation Technique was also quite interesting; its combat capabilities and advancement speed were inferior to the other two.

Its unique feature was that it allowed one to use a special method to bind a Magical Artifact to their soul ahead of time. This enabled them to nourish and quench the Magical Artifact with their Divine Thought in advance. Although it still wouldn’t be as good as a Lifebound Magical Treasure from the Foundation Establishment Stage, its power would certainly be greatly amplified.

Zhao Zuo couldn’t help but feel tempted. After all, the core of his combat style was coordinating multiple Magical Artifacts. The Golden Fire Refining World Scripture was a dual-attribute Gold and Fire Cultivation Technique, which suited his constitution quite well. The only catch was that he would have to temporarily sacrifice the "wood-feeds-fire" aspect of his Spiritual Root attribute, which would slow his Cultivation speed to some extent.

’That bit of speed isn’t that important.’ The most crucial thing was that the Golden Fire Refining World Scripture included a complete Foundation Establishment method, allowing him to cultivate all the way to Foundation Establishment Perfection in the future.

Zhao Zuo ultimately decided to purchase the Golden Fire Refining World Scripture. Before buying, however, he still browsed through the Classic-tier Cultivation Techniques. There were a dozen or so of them... and he did find one that fit his Spiritual Root, but unfortunately, its enhancements and effects were inferior to the Golden Fire Refining World Scripture.

The Golden Fire Refining World Scripture was divided into four parts.

The first part, covering the Qi Cultivation First Layer to the Ninth Layer, was priced at five hundred Contribution Points.

However, the second part required the status of an Inner Sect Disciple to purchase. The third and fourth parts corresponded to True Disciples.

’Only... promising candidates for Foundation Establishment could possibly become True Disciples.’

Zhao Zuo placed the Golden Fire Refining World Scripture volume back on the shelf and walked over to the wicker chair. He first bowed to the gray-robed elder in respect before speaking.

"Senior, I would like to purchase the Golden Fire Refining World Scripture... the part covering the Qi Cultivation Stage."

"Five hundred Contribution Points. New disciples can use their monthly stipends for the next few months to pay for it."

The gray-robed elder stretched lazily and opened his eyes. He looked completely languid, his face thick with drowsiness, yet his eyes were as gentle and clear as a pool of spring water.

’This could be considered a perk the Moyun Sect offers to new disciples, allowing them to adjust their Cultivation Technique right away. This perk, however, came at a small price.’

"Senior, I plan to use my next six months of stipend plus two hundred Contribution Points for the purchase."

"Acceptable."

The gray-robed elder waved his hand casually. Zhao Zuo’s Identity Token glowed faintly with a Spiritual Light that vanished in an instant.

Zhao Zuo lowered his head and infused a bit of Mana into the token to check it.

"Contribution Points: 57."

Then, the gray-robed elder retrieved a very thin book from his Storage Ring and casually tossed it to Zhao Zuo, instructing him.

"There’s a Restriction on the book. It will self-destruct seven days after you open it. You cannot take it out of the Scripture Pavilion; you can only memorize it here. If you spread the Cultivation Technique privately... you die!" The elder’s tone was remarkably calm. After saying this, he closed his eyes again, paying no more attention.

Hearing this, Zhao Zuo had no choice but to find a place to sit and begin reading and memorizing the Golden Fire Refining World Scripture. After reading through it once, he realized how completely wrong his initial assumptions had been.

Overall, the circulation path of the Golden Fire Refining World Scripture was more complex, which meant it could absorb more Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power simultaneously. In other words... although he lost the "wood-feeds-fire" benefit from his Spiritual Root, his Cultivation speed didn’t decrease at all. In fact, it actually increased.

After spending some time on a rough read-through, Zhao Zuo began a more careful study, analyzing it sentence by sentence to truly understand it... no longer just mechanically memorizing.

This, however, caused his reading speed to drop significantly.

For the first two days, Zhao Zuo only memorized and comprehended, not daring to try it out. Although it was tedious, he didn’t dare to be the least bit careless. After all, switching his Cultivation Technique directly affected his Cultivation progress. If... any accident occurred and damaged his Meridians... it wouldn’t be worth the risk.

Therefore, he didn’t dare to make any attempts in the first few days.

Finally, on the fourth day, Zhao Zuo began the process of switching his Cultivation Technique in his quiet chamber at home. Under the influence of his Mana, his dry and sealed Meridians were forcefully broken through one by one.

It was like a flood scouring a dry riverbed—a rebirth, a transformation. The originally fragile Meridians were nourished by his Mana, growing stronger and more resilient, faintly constructing a more complex Mana circulation network within his body.

Zhao Zuo felt waves of stinging pain spreading from his Meridians. At the same time, his Clear Heart Jade Pendant was rapidly repairing the Meridians that had been forcefully broken through, helping to achieve a more perfect circulation.

As time passed... a more complex and vast circulatory system formed within Zhao Zuo’s body. For now, however, he was only focused on widening and nourishing those slender, fragile Meridians, not yet daring to absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power.

After a long while, Zhao Zuo opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Zhao Zuo compared his progress to the memories in his mind. ’I’ve managed to widen about a third of the Meridians. There’s still a long way to go before the grand cycle is fully formed.’

.....