Chapter 333: Chaos Divine Iron, Lifebound Treasure Embryo, and the Tremors of Floating Mountain

Chapter 333: Chaos Divine Iron, Lifebound Treasure Embryo, and the Tremors of Floating Mountain

September 6th, 2024

"Flame" was also curious about the Plague Gourd.

Logically, a severely damaged and unclaimed lower-grade Spirit Artifact should not be able to resist refinement.

But earlier, despite exerting all its strength, it couldn't refine the gourd in the slightest.

If not for Lu Qing's assistance with the array's power from within the chamber, it would have lost face.

So, it was indeed quite curious about the Plague Gourd.

However, without Lu Qing's permission, it couldn't thoroughly investigate it.

By now, "Flame" had also realized this.

The reason Lu Qing was so ruthless towards the Plague Old Fiend, not even giving him a chance to beg for mercy.

Even if it meant the Plague Gourd's grade would drop, he was determined to refine it to death.

Of course, it was because that old fiend had repeatedly disrespected and mocked him.

But more likely, it was also a warning.

If, in the future, the Plague Gourd still dared to negotiate with Lu Qing, its future would likely be no better than that of the Plague Old Fiend.

Realizing Lu Qing's ruthlessness, "Flame" couldn't help but change its attitude.

It no longer looked down on this junior.

It even felt fortunate that it had agreed to Lu Qing's proposal earlier.

Otherwise, with this junior's narrow-mindedness, it might have faced more danger than good fortune.

However, although its attitude had changed, it was impossible for "Flame" to immediately call Lu Qing its master; it couldn't bring itself to do so.

"Something strange?"

Lu Qing looked at the gourd, but now he was merely a wisp of Divine Soul consciousness, unable to use his extraordinary abilities, and couldn't see through the gourd's true nature.

With a thought, the Divine Soul consciousness returned to his physical body.

With a wave of his hand, the Flamefire Cauldron spat out the Plague Gourd, which fell into Lu Qing's hands.

Then, he activated his extraordinary ability and looked into the gourd.

After a while, a faint purple light of extraordinary ability emerged from the gourd.

Several strips of text floated out.

"Purple light?"

Lu Qing was slightly startled.

According to "Flame's" explanation, the grade of the Plague Gourd had already dropped, and it was no longer a Spirit Artifact.

But it could still emit purple light? He quickly looked at the information on those strips of text.

Then he saw that the text that appeared from the Plague Gourd this time was different from what he had seen before.

[Treasure Tool Gourd: Damaged High-Grade Treasure Tool Embryo.]



[The Lifebound Treasure of the Ancient Plague Elder, a powerful cultivator from the ancient cultivation era's evil path.]



[Originally a Spirit Artifact, it was refined by the Artifact Spirit of the Flamefire Cauldron using Flamefire power, destroying the seals and refining to death the Artifact Spirit transformed from the Plague Elder, causing its grade to drop and become a high-grade Treasure Tool.]



[This treasure, due to the annihilation of its Artifact Spirit, has its seals completely destroyed, and the inner evil energy has been thoroughly purified, no longer containing the power of the evil path, and has become an ordinary treasure.]



[In the ancient cultivation era, when the Plague Elder refined this treasure, he unintentionally infused a piece of Chaos Divine Iron, which, due to a fortuitous encounter, gave birth to an Artifact Spirit, transforming this treasure into a Spirit Artifact.]



...

"Chaos Divine Iron?!"

As Lu Qing finished reading the text from the gourd in his hand, his eyes revealed an extremely delighted expression.

He never expected that the Plague Gourd had once been infused with Chaos Divine Iron, such a supreme treasure, by the Plague Old Fiend.

It was known that in the Flamefire Sect's heritage records, Chaos Divine Iron was even more precious than Celestial Meteor Iron, an unparalleled divine iron sought after by all cultivators.

That Plague Old Fiend had such fortune, having once obtained a piece of it.

"Young Master, are you saying that this gourd contains Chaos Divine Iron?!"

"Flame" was also greatly surprised by Lu Qing's words.

"Indeed, that Plague Old Fiend, when refining this gourd, used some unknown method to infuse a piece of Chaos Divine Iron into it.

Perhaps this is why you couldn't refine it earlier."

"What kind of method could it be? That Plague Old Fiend's artifact refinement techniques are very crude!

It's not that he used some ingenious method; it was purely because of the divine strangeness of the Chaos Divine Iron itself that it could be smoothly infused into the gourd!"

After being shocked for a while, "Flame" finally realized.

"I was puzzled earlier because the refinement techniques in the Plague Gourd weren't sophisticated, and the seals were also very crude.

That Plague Old Fiend wasn't known for his artifact refinement.

But with his Primordial Soul Novice stage, he could refine a Spirit Artifact perfectly suited to himself.

It turns out that it was all because he had once obtained a piece of Chaos Divine Iron!"

"Flame," as the Flamefire Sect's Guardian Artifact, had refined countless treasures and pills.

It was a master-level existence in both artifact refinement and alchemy.

When it invaded the Plague Gourd with Flamefire power earlier, it had discovered this.

The refinement technique within the Plague Gourd was not sophisticated; in its eyes, it was even crude.

Logically, with such a crude refinement method, it was impossible for the Plague Gourd to nurture an Artifact Spirit and transform into a Spirit Artifact.

Now it finally understood that everything was due to the excellent foundation, as a piece of Chaos Iron was fused into the gourd.

"Young Master, this is excellent news!"

"Flame" congratulated Lu Qing, "This gourd has merged with Chaos Iron, possessing an excellent foundation and limitless potential.

It is the best Primordial Treasure embryo.

Now, the Seal that the Plague Elder refined into the gourd has almost been completely destroyed by me.

The plague energy within has also been eradicated.

This is the perfect opportunity to refine it into my own Primordial Treasure!"

"Primordial Treasure?"

Lu Qing looked at the gray gourd in his hand.

"Indeed, this gourd contains Chaos Iron, accommodating all things, and can adapt to any cultivator.

The Plague Elder probably didn't recognize its value and didn't understand the divine properties of Chaos Iron.

That's why he refined it into a demonic treasure that could only contain plague energy, which is a complete waste of its potential.

Young Master, with your diverse knowledge, this gourd is the most suitable Primordial Treasure for you."

Lu Qing looked at the gourd, deep in thought.

As the heir of the Flamefire Sect's legacy, he naturally knew some of the divine properties of Chaos Iron.

He understood that what "Flame" said was not an empty claim.

This gourd, infused with Chaos Iron, was indeed highly malleable and very suitable for him.

After all, as "Flame" said, his knowledge was too diverse, especially since he had cultivated the Quintessence Body Cultivation Art and possessed the five elemental spirit energies.

A single-attribute or even multi-attribute magic treasure was actually not suitable as a Primordial Treasure.

But this gourd, infused with Chaos Iron and accommodating all things, perfectly matched his cultivation method.

"Good, I'll refine it into my own Primordial Treasure! However, this process will likely require your help, 'Flame'."

Lu Qing pondered for a moment and made his decision.

"Of course."

"Flame" revealed a smile, as refining magic treasures was its forte.

Lu Qing immediately performed hand seals, opened the Flamefire Cauldron, and threw the gray gourd inside.

A flame rose, engulfing the gourd.

Then, Lu Qing's consciousness entered the Flamefire Cauldron, and together with "Flame," they manipulated the fire within the cauldron to refine the gourd.

This step was to thoroughly eliminate the Seal that the Plague Elder had once refined into the gourd, preventing any future troubles.

Without the support and operation of the Artifact Spirit, the remaining Seal within the gourd was like a non-existent entity to the flames of the Flamefire Cauldron.

It was quickly completely refined, leaving no trace.

After thoroughly refining the gourd inside and out, ensuring no flaws remained.

Lu Qing began to manipulate the power of the Flamefire Cauldron, refining his own Seal within the gourd.

As Lu Qing skillfully refined the Seal into the gourd, "Flame" beside him was shocked.

It discovered that Lu Qing was using the secret, unique refinement technique of the Flamefire Sect, which it was very familiar with.

Because of this, Lu Qing could easily manipulate the Flamefire energy within the cauldron to refine the gourd.

"Where did this kid obtain the Flamefire Sect's legacy?

Could it be that during that battle, some Supreme Elder managed to escape and left the legacy elsewhere?"

"Flame" was both shocked and puzzled.

During that battle, the Flamefire Sect had exhausted all its strength in a fierce fight with its enemies.

In the end, almost all the sect's experts perished, and several Supreme Elders and the Sect Master died on the spot.

Only the Young Master, carrying it, which was severely damaged, managed to escape with the desperate protection of other elders, finding refuge in a secret base established by the Flamefire Sect.

But not long after arriving at the secret base, the Young Master also succumbed to his severe soul injury, struggling to recover.

Finally, after leaving most of the Flamefire Sect's legacy within the Flamefire Cauldron, he passed away.

Logically, besides it, no other being should know the core cultivation methods of the Flamefire Sect.

So where did Lu Qing learn this authentic Flamefire Sect refinement technique?

"Flame" was perplexed, unable to find an answer.

It never imagined that there would be an enigmatic existence like Lu Qing in this world.

Without any instruction, he could use his Extraordinary Ability to directly download and simulate the entire legacy left by the Young Master of the Flamefire Sect from it.

Otherwise, its fear of Lu Qing would likely have escalated.

As Lu Qing focused on refining his Primordial Treasure in the Jade Transformation Cave, in a mysterious place that defied description, a majestic and awe-inspiring temple stood atop a colossal mountain floating in mid-air.

In the majestic and solemn Grand Hall, numerous monks in their kasaya robes stood solemnly. Leading them was a stout monk draped in a red kasaya, his expression stern as he gazed at the young monk kneeling before him.

"Repeat what happened at the Soul Tower," the Great Elder demanded.

The young monk, still kneeling, sobbed, "I went to clean the Soul Tower today, and I discovered that the Soul Lanterns of Grandmaster Xuanming and Grandmaster Xuan Nu had gone out!"

At these words, the Great Elder, clad in his red kasaya, swayed slightly, almost losing his balance.

The surrounding monks were shocked, hardly believing their ears.

The death of a person and the extinguishing of a soul lantern meant that Grandmaster Xuanming and the others had perished.

Fortunately, the Great Elder's composure was remarkable, and he quickly regained his calm.

"What exactly happened? Tell me the truth!" he demanded in a deep voice.

"Yes!" The young monk stifled his sobs and choked out, "Today was my turn to clean the Soul Tower. I didn't pay much attention at first, but when I reached the floor where the Soul Lanterns were kept..."

He paused, then continued, "I looked up and saw that Grandmaster Xuanming's Soul Lantern had gone out. Not only that, but even Grandmaster Xuan Nu's and the other elders and senior disciples who had gone out this time—their Soul Lanterns were all extinguished!"

The young monk's voice trembled with fear. He was terrified because he had been slacking off during his cleaning duty.

He was supposed to clean the Soul Tower three days ago but had put it off due to other matters, slacking for several days.

After all, the Soul Tower rarely saw visitors, and with the protective array keeping it clean, it was unlikely for dust to accumulate even after ten days or half a month of neglect.

He had often slacked off from cleaning in the past without any issues.

Who could have guessed that this time, such bad luck would strike, leading to such a significant event?

The young monk's heart raced with anxiety, fearing the punishment he might face if the Great Elder discovered his laziness.

Fortunately, the news he brought was so shocking that the other monks didn't notice the unusual expression on his face.

"Quickly, let's go to the Soul Tower!"

The Great Elder, despite his bulky frame, moved with incredible agility, vanishing from the hall in an instant.

The other monks followed suit, using their movement techniques to rush towards the Soul Tower.

In a moment, only the young monk remained, drenched in cold sweat, quietly crawling up from the ground and dashing out of the hall.

Before long, the Great Elder and his group arrived at the Soul Tower.

Seeing the row of extinguished Soul Lanterns, their faces turned ashen, filled with grief and fury.

The Great Elder sensed that the soul essences of Grandmaster Xuanming and the others had truly dissipated within the Soul Lanterns.

"Who dares to harm the people of Hanging Mountain?!" he exclaimed.

Even the Great Elder's composure couldn't suppress his grief and anger, and he felt a chill in his limbs.

Grandmaster Xuanming had taken several of the temple's treasures with him on this trip, even the Demonic Subduing Vajra.

With those treasures and the other disciples, they should have been safe in the recently Spirit Qi-revived outside world.

But now, their Soul Lanterns had gone out.

How powerful was the one who killed them?

"Could it be the three immortals from the Sacred Mountain, or someone from another secret realm?" the Great Elder wondered, feeling a sense of crisis rising within him.

Could there be a conspiracy targeting Hanging Mountain?

"Regardless of who did this, we must find out! Great Elder, we cannot let this matter rest!" one of the monks cried out in anger.

"Indeed, in tens of thousands of years, no one has dared to harm our people from Hanging Mountain. We must find out who did this!"

"And once we do, even if they're from another secret realm, we'll make them pay for their crimes!"

The monks were filled with indignation.

Many of the monks who had gone out on this trip had close relationships with the Hanging Mountain monks.

Some were even proud disciples of the Hanging Mountain elders.

Now, they had died mysteriously in the outside world, and the Hanging Mountain monks couldn't accept this.

The Great Elder looked at the enraged monks and nodded, "Of course, we must investigate this thoroughly.

Xuan Yi, go to Purgatory Tower and ask them to send people out to find out what happened.

I will go up the mountain to report this to the Abbot."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end